Pranks & Pandemonium
by leogirl
Summary: Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalries at their worst. More Chapters to Come!
1. How it started

Chapter 1  
  
"That was the longest Quidditch practice ever. Wood is a lot pushier than he was when he was in school. He's a lot harder since he's been invited back to be captain since we didn't play last year. All the captains that graduated in our third year are back. Actually that's only Wood and Flint. Maybe that's why he's making us work so hard."   
  
Harry said as he, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were walking back from practice. Ginny was a new chaser along with Seamus and Dean. They were heading back to Gryffindor tower.  
  
Hermione yawned "I'm going straight toYIKES!" The whole group slipped, tripped and slid across the corridor. Anybody who saw them would see a sliding mountain of students. As they came to a tangled stop, the rest of the Gryffindor team caught up with them pushing the clump into a wall.   
  
This is what you would see:  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione against a wall each with Hermione squashed in the middle.  
Ron and Harry were sitting upright, but Hermione was lying down facing the opposite direction, staring cross-eyed at the handle of Harry's broomstick, which was dangerously and inch away from her face. Ginny was lying with her head on Harry's shoes and she was sprawled crisscrossed on Hermione's back.  
In front of Hermione, Fred and George were trying to wrestle out of a heap of their own, their broomtails in their faces.  
Poor Hermione unable to move was in danger of having Fred and George shove Harry's broom into her eyes.   
Wood, Seamus, and Dean were next to each other on the floor.   
Seamus and Dean were suffocating from Wood's arms spread onto their faces.  
  
"Hey, Flint! We got the whole team plus two more," laughed sneery voice that could only belong to Malfoy.   
  
Harry looked across and saw Malfoy standing in a connecting hallway. Behind him was the whole Slytherin team still wearing their quidditch uniforms and Crabbe and Goyle.   
They were all cracking up. Malfoy smirked down at the mess of students and leaned over on the wall shaking a bottle in his hand.  
  
Harry fixed his glasses straight and looked up. The bottle was Ice-less Indoor Skating Rink Spray. Malfoy leaned over and sprayed some in Harry's face, freezing him to the spine. That made the Slytherin group crack up even harder.   
  
"Potter is very coordinated, even off his precious Firebolt." The Slytherins walked away giggling, hicupping, and sighing from laughter.  
  
"Those Slytherins," Ron didn't seem to be able to find a word bad enough as he helped Ginny up from Hermione's back and Harry's sleeping foot.   
  
"We better just forget about it," Harry pulled Hermione up who was still lying there, dazed "We're playing against them soon and it will be really distracting." They started heading toward the tower.  
  
"I think we should pay them back and let them know they should be scared" said Ron  
  
Hermione who suddenly came back to her senses protested quickly.  
  
"Harry's right, and it could get us into a lot of trouble. You shouldn't let him get you"  
  
"Get me? I'm just saying that we can't let them think they won."  
  
"It doesn't matter what they think. We just have to ignore it"  
"Ignoring it will make it worse. They'll think we're weak and they'll push us around"  
  
"They'll stop if you don't do anything and if you're so sure they'll push us around you're admitting that they can. Is that what you're worried about?"  
  
"What! All I'm worried about is swatting flies instead of just standing there and letting more come"  
  
They had come up in front of the staircase leading to the boy's dormitories. Ron and Hermione stopped walking, but continued bickering with each other. Harry, too tired from practice to listen to another one of their famous arguments went straight to bed, with Slytherin far from his mind. 


	2. The War Begins

Chapter 2  
  
The next day by lunch, the whole team had forgotten about the night before and everything seemed pretty normal. Ron was begging Hermione for her chocolate pudding.   
  
"Come on Hermione. How about if I do your homework for you?"  
  
"You think she'll trust you to do that?" Harry grinned.  
  
"I'll- I'll give you my ice-cream at dinner"  
  
"Okay," she pushed her bowl over to him, "I hate pudding anyway"  
  
"Fwhat!" Ron said through a mouthful of pudding. He gulped, "Why did you take it then"  
  
Hermione picked up her bag and grinned sheepishly, "I like ice-cream"  
Ginny laughed and followed her. Harry couldn't help but laugh, too.  
  
"I'm going to get her for that" Ron finished the last of his pudding  
  
They ran across the great hall and caught up with them around a corner.  
Hermione and Ginny had stopped walking and were just standing there.   
They were facing Malfoy.   
He was leaning down on the floor looking at something.  
He looked up.  
  
"Hey, we have some visitors,"  
He moved out of the way and standing there was something Harry thought that resembled Hand from the Addams Family. The big noticeable difference was that it was a halfway mummified a seasick green hand with chipped yellow fingernails.  
  
"It's a cursed mummy's hand from Egypt. It puts you in some sort of curse. It only lasts a few hours though. Want to try it out?" Malfoy didn't wait for an answer. He pulled out his wand and yelled,  
  
"Entranci Sorcelhan!"  
  
The hand flew across and grabbed Ginny's ankle.   
She screamed and tried to pull it off. It gripped harder and she screamed louder.   
She finally got it off and threw it down the hall.   
She was sobbing and staring at her hands now, which were the same colors as the hand.  
She turned around and ran down the hall. As she turned, Harry, Ron, and Hermione saw tears glistening on her pale face.   
  
Hermione started yelling and screaming at Malfoy. She obviously was as rule abiding as McGonagall, but she could lecture just like her to. She yelled and screamed everything could say until the usually calm and peaceful Hermione was tired and drained out of every bad word she knew. Both Harry and Ron were about to express every word Hermione said and get out their wands, but instead they stopped and listened bewilderedly to Hermione.  
She didn't even give Malfoy anytime to make a wisecrack. He just stood there for awhile and then turned around and walked down the hall.  
  
"What was that all about," Ron asked at as they walked toward their next class.  
  
"Well, that was a really mean thing to do to Ginny," Hermione answered, a little embarrassed.   
  
"If you had stopped, not that you should have, but if you did Harry and me would have acted out your whole speech. Anyway, I think the Slytherins have gone to far. I think we should pay them back," Ron said.  
Hermione suddenly was back to her usual self,  
  
"You can't do that. You will get into so much trouble."  
  
"It would be helpful but you don't have to take part," Ron said quickly.  
"Hermione stopped in her tracks.  
  
"Fine! You guys are probably going to mess everything up, and get Gryffindor in trouble without me, but at least I'm out of it!" Hermione said and ran ahead of them to class.  
  
"We don't need her. What does se know? I bet she has never pulled a prank in her whole life." Ron whispered to Harry. Even if she hadn't, Harry felt like they were less likely to get in trouble with Hermione around. She was smart and she could get people out of trouble real easily. Harry knew she could make a better foolproof plan than Ron, but it was too obvious that she wasn' willing to help out.  
  
That night Ron gathered up everyone in the common room, except Hermione who was off in a corner doing well, homework.   
  
"Those Slytherins are treating us like dirt and I think it's time to pay them back!" Ron yelled. They started to think up spells to curse them. Hermione wathced every bit of it from behind her book. She knew they couldn't do it without her.   
  
"Does anyone know how to do the Echo curse? You know, the one where all they can say is the last word they hear?" Ron called above all the heads. Everyone started talking, but no one seemed to know the curse.  
Then Ginny raised her normal skin-colored hand. Everyone became quiet.  
  
"Yeah?," Ron said hopefully.  
  
"Hermione does," Ginny said weakly in her small voice. All heads turned toward Hermione, who was trying not to flinch as she stared at her book.  
Harry knew Ron wasn't about to ask her back in so he did,  
  
"Well Hermione? Will you come back and help us?"  
  
Hermione looked up and around the room.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. You obviously need me. I have never heard worse pranks. You'd get caught before you even step out the portrait."  
  
Everyone cheered. 


	3. Gryffindor's Turn

Chapter 3  
  
Hermione quickly became in charge. This was the plan:  
They would sneak the passwords of the Slytherin common room out of someone (ideally Crabbe or Goyle). Hermione overheard them talking about a party on Friday night.   
Hermione found out that all the fifth-year Slytherins had astronomy on that night, with the party probably after that. The third and fourth-years were free on Friday evening to go to Hogsmeade and didn't have a huge test to study for like the fifth, sixth, and seventh years. The older kids were spending most of their time in the library or getting food from the kitchens for the party.  
Hermione figured that no one would be there.   
All the Gryffindors would go there, hide, and then trash the party.   
  
"What if they tell Snape?" Neville asked.  
  
"They are too proud to do that. And of course, all of us can't go. We'll take about ten people."  
  
And the ten people were some of the top Slytherin haters and hated-by Slytheriners:  
Hermione, Ron, Lee Jordan, and the whole quidditch team.   
  
Hermione managed to get the password to the dungeons out of Crabbe. The conversasion went something like this:  
  
Hermione-Crabbe, could you tell me the password to the dungeons?  
  
Crabbe-Why would I want to do that?  
  
Hermione-Because Goyle forgot it and he needs to know quick.  
  
Crabbe-Malfoy said we aren't supposed to tell anyone.  
  
Hermione-Well, this is an emergency.  
  
Crabbe-Why would you want to help Goyle?  
  
Hermione-I don't really want to. It's just that I was helping him with his homework and he took my book by mistake.  
  
Crabbe-But you're in Gryffindor. Why would you want to help a Slytherin?  
  
Hermione-McGonagall made me help him in transfiguration.  
  
Crabbe-She didn't ask you to help me.  
  
Hermione-McGonagall said you didn't need any help.  
Crabbe was flattered.  
  
Then it took him about ten minutes to remember the password.  
  
"You got the password?"Harry asked as she went back to the common room.  
  
'Yeah, and I also got this," Hermione held up the Ice-Rink Spray bottle Malfoy used on them.  
  
"How'd you get that?"  
  
"Well, Crabbe obviously couldn't remember the password. He had to looked through his bag to find where he wrote it. I helped him looked through it, comsidering it was a good source t find info and it was. I just sneaked it into my pocket."   
  
On friday night, they sneaked into the common with the password; snicker doodle. Luckily, the common room was empty and dark with the lanterns and the fireplace out. It looked kind of like the Gryffindor common room with the dormitory staircases spiraling up on either side.  
  
Everyone took their places. Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed up the girls' staircase and sat on their knees against the banistry looking down. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan took the same position on the boys' side. Wood, Seamus, Dean, and Ginny hid behind couches and chairs.   
  
They all waited equipped with whipped cream, unlimited-space water balloons filled with Ice-Rink Spray, and Hermione somehow managed to summon two small rain clouds about to burst. The rain clouds were floating on top of either side of the rooms behind the banistries.   
  
"Everyone, do the hovering spell!" Hermione whispered loudly.   
The room was full of everyone whispering the spell. It was a spell a little lower level than the hovering spell=Wingardium Leviosa. It only let them hover an inch, but it let them move without magic or friction. This spell was so there wouldn't be a reoccurance of what happened last time they came across Ice-Rink Spray.  
  
As everyone was done with their spells and the room was quiet again, they heard a low rumble. Suddenly, a herd of fifth-years back from their astronomy lesson came pounding in. They were loud with excitement as they relit all the lights. Everything happened fast; music was turned on and the other kids started coming in with food.   
  
The Gryffindors waited five minutes before Hermione whispered "Silencio" and all music made by magic was turned off. The room became silent and all the Slytherins were looking around confused not at anything in particular since the music didn't have a source. Everything started happening at once.  
  
The Gryffindors behind the banisters dropped the water balloons. Screams erupted as everyone went slipping and sliding about and an especially loud scream from Pansy Parkinson who had the unfortunate experience of standing directly underneath the banistry.  
  
Wood, Ginny, Seamus, and Dean stood up as the floor changed. They then ran around whip-creaming everything they saw, mainly the faces of the Slytherins struggling to get up. They ran to the door and stood against it waiting.   
  
"Accio Cloud One!" Hermione yelled loudly over the commotion to summon the cloud on the other side.  
  
"Accio Cloud Two!" They heard Fred yell from the other side.  
  
The two clouds moved slowly to the middle and collided sending rain water all over the place with the shrieks louder than before. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan quickly climbed down from the stairs, which wasn't as fast as they could have with the hovering spell slowing them down.  
  
They all ran to the door where the rest of the Gryffindors were waiting for them. They had to escape quickly since the cheap Ice-Rink Spray was wearing off. They weren't about to risk being outnumbered by an angry herd of Slytherins.   
  
They opened the gate and were ahout to jump out when Malfoy came sliding over at the very same time the rink disappeared. He grabbed Harry and slipped in the rain water puddles. They both tumbled right underneath the clouds wrestling to get up. Finally, Harry managed to push Malfoy off. He grabbed his glasses running as fast as he could he went to through the door the rest of the group had held open for them. They ran until the hovering spell ran out. They hadn't gone to the portrait hole, afraid the Slytherins might follow them. They all stopped to catch their breath.  
  
"That was great!" Hermione gasped happily as she repaired Harry's glasses, which had been Malfoy's first target in the fight.  
  
"Yeah, they won't forget that for awhile. I'm glad we did this despite everything," Harry said as he wringed water off his robes.   
  
The happy Gryffindors slowly sneaked back to Gryffindor tower, laughing and talking about the Slyterins merrily.  
  
They all gasped as they came to the portrait. The Fat Lady was still sleeping but had something all over her. Harry walked over and wiped some of it off.   
  
"It's whipped cream" he reported.   
  
"It must have been from the cans we left in the Slytherin common room," Ginny said judging by the message sprayed on there:  
  
we'll cream YOU!  
  
"Guess they came straight here instead of chasing after us" Ron said.  
The Fat Lady woke up and rubbed her eyes. It looked very pathetic as she came into realization of what happened.  
  
"You!" she screamed looking at the whipped cream through the glass.   
  
"We didn't do it" Ginny said.  
  
"Then who did?"  
The group looked at each other uneasily. If they told her she would tell Filch and that would end up getting them into trouble, too.  
  
"It's nothing to worry about," Hermione said as she used a spell to wipe the cream off. She told the Fat Lady the password.  
  
"Very well" yawned the Fat Lady swinging open showing them the rest of the Gryffindors. The group was pulled in and everyone laughed as they all told the tale of what happened that night. All the Gryffindors went to bed happy that night, not realizing how angry the Slytherins really were... 


	4. All Slytherins Are The Same

a/n: Ah! the smell of a clean empty page on a computer screen  
  
a mysterious voice that introduces hosts on TV:psst.. people are reading this you now!  
  
a/n:*looks around* People? Where? *looks straight at you* Yiiikes!  
  
mysterious voice: On with the show!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
The next morning the Gyrffindors were glad too see, the Slytherins weren't very happy at all. The usual glare they gave the Gryffindors looked defeated and much less confident with the bags under their eyes. All of the Gryffindors glared back.  
  
It was the biggest staring contest of the year. The bleary-eyed Slytherins stared blankly not being able to concentrate on glowering, while the Gryffindors leered triumphantly. The table arrangements, due to a sequence of a few brutal conflicts between two particular houses, were from the left when you entered the great hall: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.   
  
The poor confused Hufflepuffs were nervously looking back and forth between the Gryffindors and Slytherins from their uncomfortable positions. The Ravenclaws were swapping rumors about what happened, since a few of the Ravenclaws were distant friends with some Gryffindors, while curiously waiting for something wondrous to occur between the two most remarkable houses. Nevertheless, they were way off, on account of a new pride and allegiance within the Gryffindor house. All in all, the Great Hall was very quiet that breakfast.   
  
Breakfast didn't last very long because the Slytherins quickly grew tired of sitting there being humiliated in front of the school. With the Slytherins gone, there wasn't much to see anymore and soon everyone was gone and were planning their Saturday mornings.  
  
The three namely Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all sitting outside in the hot sun not doing much of anything. Hermione, to Harry and Ron's disgust, had brought along Hogwarts, A History along thinking that it is about time that they heard it. Hermione was reading it aloud,  
  
"Okay this is the part that I said would be useful. A secret path is said to be hidden going from Gryffindor tower to the Slytherin dungeons. That might be useful. Too bad we already know how. They'll probably change their password, though" Harry and Ron were unusually quiet. Were they listening? Hermione peered around the colossal book.   
  
They were asleep!  
  
Yes, they had been genuinely slumbering since the last half hour. Actually, watching them Hermione had a strong urge to drift away too, but being herself she forbid herself to think of such a thing when it was the perfect day to be reading. She layed her head on the book which was propped up on her knees and was thinking about the passageway. Why would there be a passageway. The book said that a bunch of Gryffindors had made it. Were they fighting with the Slytherins, too? She was just drowsing off when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up sleepily.  
  
"Hi, sorry did I wake you. Can I sit here? I can't find anyone else."  
It was a girl. Hermione had seen her around a couple of times but didn't know her very well.   
  
"Yeah, sure"  
  
"I'm Phoebe. I'm in my fifth year."  
  
"I'm Hermione. I'm in the same year. How come you aren't in any of my classes?"  
  
"I was home-schooled, and when I joined, they tested me for my classes and all my classes are sixth year, but I'm still officially a fifth year because of my age. Guess I won't have a seventh year graduation."  
Wow, someonne taking sixth year classes. Hermione would much rather talk to her than read a book to two boys who were listening to her just as much as the tree they were sitting under.  
  
"Hey, what's up with them two" Phoebe looked at them.  
  
"The poor dears wore themselves out studying all night long. They were just taking a break to relax while I read to them. And the sweet imbecile darlings were just too exhausted and now are sleeping like angels"  
  
"Really?"  
Hermione plucked some grass and sprinkled them onto Ron's face.  
  
"No"  
Phoebe laughed.  
  
"So what are you reading"  
Hermione showed her the book.  
  
"Hey, I read that book alot, but I never found anyone to talk about it to."  
They talked for awhile longer, and Harry and Ron stirred and woke up. Phoebe looked at Harry.  
  
"Hey, you're Harry Potter," Phoebe looked around at the three of them and frowned," You're all in Gryffindor aren't you? Figures" she said as Ron rubbed his eyes groggily.   
Phoebe stood up, scowling down at them.   
  
"You really ruined our party last night but just so you know, Slytherin has always beaten Gryffindor in these things. Slytherin has always sent you smutty Gryffindor freaks clambering away."   
  
Phoebe turned to Hermione, "I would have had a little respect for you, but you are a Gryffindor. And I'm not so sure how smart you are anyway, judging by how you hang around these dunderheads," She gestured towards Harry and Ron, who had no idea what to do besides just sitting there and look stupid when a girl you didn't know insulted you. You certainly couldn't fight them.   
  
Hermione quickly jumped up. Sure, maybe sometimes Harry and Ron could be a bunch of ignorant numskulls who could barely care about anything that had to do with grades until it came to the time where they had to care, but they were her best friends, and she was not about to take this crap about them from a Slytherin who is dumb enough to judge people by their houses or their friends. It was just so...Slytherin-like. All of them were like that. (a/n: Listen to yourself, Hermione. Isn't that kinda sorta like what you are doing?)   
  
"You Slytherins think you rule the school, don't you?!" Hermione screeched, " Well, guess what? Gryffindors are going to beat the crud out of you before we do it again at our match!"   
  
Phoebe gave an infamous Slytherin glare, before turning around and heading up to the castle.  
  
"God, she's a bad one," Harry said as they headed back to the castle to prepare for their Hogsmeade trip.  
  
"Well, she seemed nice at first, but being a Slytherin, that obviously couldn't last very long." Hermione said shaking angrily. Hermione had an idea forming in her mind. She stopped in her tracks. Harry and Ron turned around and looked at her.   
  
"We could have those Slytherins doing whatever we want them to."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Blackmail" 


	5. A Complicated Day

If you are reading this from HPP then Leogirl is Dorothy  
-----------------------  
Backstage:  
  
Godric Gryffindor- Those kids were brought up right.  
  
Salazar Slytherin- Yes, they have managed to keep up with traditions.  
  
Gryffindor- Your house is looking kind of down. You haven't had a famous person since Tom riddle.  
  
Slytherin- Yeah? And who do you have?  
  
Gryffindor- Harry Potter of course! Lets not forget that he defeated your Voldemort!  
  
Slytherin- That scarhead? My Draco Malfoy looks so much better than him. He has grown up to be just like me.  
  
Gryffindor-Oh Yeah, Just like you. That makes alot of sense since he wet the bed until he was ten.  
  
Slytherin- I did not wet the bed until I was ten! *muttering* Well... there was that one time... What are you lookin' at?  
  
a/n(me!)- Hey, what are you guys doing here?  
  
Gryffindor- We're just making sure everyone is doing things right.  
  
Slytherin- Yeah, alot of fics are making Gryffindors and Slytherins friends. Blech! That is so not keeping up with tradition. They shouldn't agree in anything just like Godric and me. Right?  
  
Gryffindor- Right ol' buddy, ol' pal.  
  
Slytherin- Hey what is going on here. Since when have we been buddies?  
  
Gryffindor- Don't look at me. I'm not writing this story.  
  
Slytherin- LEOGIRL!  
  
a/n- On with the show!  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Hermione, apparently, had lost all sense of her old self and no logic or caution was left in that brilliant mind of hers. All she wanted to do was really make those Slytherins sorry, and she was going to take as many risks as was necessary.   
  
It was cleanup weekend, which meant that all the students had to go to Hogsmeade(and the younger kids and people without permission had to stay outside), while the house elves did some extra cleaning and the teachers had   
a meeting and (they claimed) talked about important business.  
  
The three just sat around the common room while waiting for the afternoon trip. Harry and Ron were playing chess, and Hermione was just staring at one one page in Hogwarts, A History. She looked up and asked,  
  
"Harry, can I borrow the Marauder's Map?"  
Harry, slightly distracted looked up.  
  
"What for?"   
  
"I just need to see the castle for a while."  
  
"Okay, I guess it's alright. It's up in my dormitory," He turned back to his game, "I'll get it later. I could win this one."  
Hermione jumped up suddenly,  
  
"No, it's okay. I'll get it!" Harry, didn't here her. Hermione quickly ran upstairs. (a/n: There is no reason to stand around and watch a chess game when you have the opportunity to take a sneek-peek into the boys' dormitories, right, girls? Right.)  
  
Hermione ran up and opened the door, cautiously and looked in. No one was there. She smiled to herself. She could take her time, and Harry didn't tell her exactly where it was so she could do a bit of snooping (a/n: Ooo, naughty Hermione!).   
  
She looked around. Pretty messy. You couldn't tell what belonged to which bed. Hermione circled the room looking at each four-poster. Which was Harry's? She finally just picked one and began rummaging through its bedside table. It mainly consisted of candy wrappers. This was probably Ron's, but she kept looking. She came upon a piece of parchment. Guessing it was unfinished homework, Hermione put it inside her bag to confront Ron later.   
  
Hermione was having so much fun that she completely forgot about the map. She turned to the next bed-side table, and started looking through it, when the door opened.  
  
"Hermione! What are you doing in my drawer?" It was Seamus. Hermione looked up.  
  
"Uh, I was looking for...Harry's drawer's cuz I needed to get something." She shut the drawer and stood up.  
  
"Harry's bed is over there." He pointed to the one on the other side of Ron's.  
  
"Okay, thanks"  
Seamus was looking at her suspiciously, but Hermione ignored it. She found the map and ran out the door.   
  
She stuffed the map into her bag and ran over to her dormitory. She was so excited, she took out her diary from her dresser drawer and wrote about her first experience in an all boy environment. There wasn't a whole lot to say since the whole thing had been cut short. She couldn't write much anyway, since Lavender and Parvati came giggling in.  
  
"Did he write back?!" Parvati shrieked.  
  
"No, not yet!"  
  
"Who is it? Come on tell me!!" Lavender silenced her, jerking her head toward Hermione. What was going on? It looked to Hermione that Lavender had just sent a love letter to yet another boy. But why wouldn't they tell her? Oh well, she didn't really care about what they had to say anyway. Then Lavender broke Hermione's confusion.   
  
"Ooo, what've you got there? A diary?"  
  
"No, homework." Hermione snapped the dairy shut and ran out the door. She put it into her bag. Surely, both of them would attack it if she left it there. Hermione spent the rest of the morning working on the map and Hogwarts, A History in the common room.  
  
Suddenly, she jumped up quickly and yelled,  
  
"I got it! Harry, Ron, I figured it out."  
Both Ron and Harry looked up.  
Ron asked curiously,  
  
"What? Are you going to tell us how you blackmail the Slytherins yet?"  
  
"No, I have to show you something, but not now!"  
  
"Show us what?"  
  
"I'll show you after everyone leaves."  
Harry checked his watch.  
  
"We have to meet Mcgonagall at the carriage enterance in ten minutes" Hermione frowned.  
  
"Oh yeah."  
She seemed to be thinking really hard. She sighed,  
  
"I can't believe I'm going to do this, but I am, and you guys are going to have to play along. All right?"  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"Just play along, okay?"  
  
Harry shrugged, and just then they had to go get in line to get their names checked off at the carriage enterance. They checked their names off with Mcgonagall and headed toward the carriages. Then so suddenly that she nearly collided with Harry and Ron, Hermione turned around and went back to Mcgonagall.  
  
"Professor? I left some stuff that I needed to return in my dormitory. Could I please go get them? I'll be back really fast. Oh, and there is alot of stuff so could Harry and Ron come and help me?" Harry and Ron kept quiet, though quite shocked. Mcgonagall thought about it.  
  
"I suppose so. I'll leave a carriage for you three, since I have the teacher's conference to attend. Understand, that I'm only doing this because I trust you, Ms. Granger."  
  
"You lied to a teacher!" Ron exclaimed later as they were walking to Gryffindor Tower.   
  
"You don't need to rub it in, it was really hard."  
When they entered the common room, Hermione headed straight for the fire place. She stamped around a bit and then ran her hand across the mantelpiece.  
  
"What are you doing?" Harry asked.  
  
"Ummm...hold on," Hermione said as she went back to stamping.   
  
"Maybe it's like the entrance of Diagon Alley," She muttered.  
Hermione took her wand out, the the floor of the fireplace three times, and yelled,  
  
"Aparecium!"  
Nothing happened and then three bricks glowed green. Hermione tapped them several ways with her wand but nothing happened. She got really frustrated.  
  
"Are you looking for an opening or something" Harry asked  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Then look at the map. It usually helps." Hermione took it out. There was her in the common room, but the dot was sort of moving. Hermione pointed and yelled,  
  
"Megnifigium!"  
  
and the dot that was her enlarged to show a sort of stick figure leaning down as if to pick something up. Hermione reached down and placed her hand over the three bricks. There was a rumbling and the bricks were moving. Hermione tried to get out of the fireplace, when the bricks gave away under her.  
The bricks stopped moving and Harry and Ron leaned over. Hermione was about seven feet below, sitting on the stone floor.  
  
"What happened?" Ron asked.  
  
"I found the passageway to the Slytherin dungeons"  
  
"Why can't we just get in like last time?"  
  
"They aren't stupid. They probably changed it and Malfoy probably told Crabbe and Goyle."  
  
"So are you going to tell us how we're blackmailing?"  
  
"Not unless you get me backup." 


	6. Caught!

Chapter 6  
  
The next day, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were waiting around until it was time for the Hogsmeade trip, which wasn't a cleanup day.   
  
They waited around until everyone was gone either to Hogsmeade, their dormitories, or wherever they were spending their Sunday. Hermione jumped off the couch, as the last person left.   
  
"Ready?"  
  
Harry and Ron nodded. Hermione had told them the plan. They were prepared with Harry's Map and the Invisibility cloak just in case, their wands, plus Hermione brought her bag because it still had her diary in it and Parvati and Lavender were in the dormitory. They walked over to the fireplace and opened the entrance.   
  
Once they were there, they just followed the path to the dungeons, going through many spiraling staircases along the way. It was very dark, so they held their wands in front of them to light the way.  
  
"How long is this?" Ron asked about thirty minutes later.  
  
"Well, going from the tower to the dungeons is pretty far, but since the dungeons are pretty much below us, we should be almost there." They eventually came to a dead end.  
  
"Now what?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well according to the map, the castle doesn't get any deeper than the dungeons, so the enterance won't be on the ceiling. The Hogwarts grounds are supposed to be solid rock. If the ground is hollow, then the dungeons would be right below us," Hermione said.  
  
Ron stomped on the ground.  
  
Hermione sighed, "You know you can't tell if the floor is made of stone.  
  
But just then, Ron stepped on one brick and it sunk. With that, the floor gave away unerneath them. They all landed painfully on the stone floor of the Slytherin fireplace. They struggles until one of them made it out of the crowded fireplace. They all stood up.   
  
"Wew, we made it" Harry said looking around the Slytherin common room. It was very exciting, especially since they could carry ou their plan without any Slytherins around.   
  
"Come on," Hermione squealed excitedly. They made their way up the boys' dormitories and entered the one marked "Fifth Year" (a/n: Why'd they pick that one first? I'll give you three guesses). It looked the same as the Gryffindor boys' dormitories except that it was all in green and silver.   
  
"Which do you think is Malfoy's?" Harry asked looking around. Then he spotted the handle of a Nimbus 2001 sticking out from under a bed. Malfoy was the only fifth year on the Slytherin team. Ron looked through the bedside table, Harry looked under the bed, and Hermione in his trunk.  
  
"All he's got is a bunch of junk," Ron said as he closed the drawer.  
  
"Nothing here but- AHHH! It's the mummy's hand!" Harry yelled in a muffled voice and quickly pulled his head out,   
  
"Is there anything wrong with my face?" Hermione looked up at him as her hands were still searching for something,  
  
"It doesn- Oh!"  
  
"Oh no, it DID tuch me!"  
  
"No, but I think I found something" Hermione pulled out a leather bound book out. Ron looked at it,  
  
"Malfoy has a diary?" he laughed.  
  
"What's so funny about keeping a diary?" Hermione demanded and blushed scarlet.  
  
"Nothing, it's just the thought of Malfoy keeping one. Anyway, go ahead and open it."  
  
Hermione opened to the first flap. Harry and Ron scooted iver to look at it. There was a message. It said,   
  
Happy Birthday. Draco!  
  
I collected all you birthday pictures ina n album, to add onto as you get older.   
  
Love,  
  
Mother  
  
Harry laughed, "All his pictures? Even when he was a baby?"  
  
Hermione went to the first page. All three fell over themselves laughing.  
  
There was a picture of Malfoy, around age two, wearing nothing but diapers and a party hat dancing the macarena to musical chairs. It was hilarious.   
  
They finally calmed down and took the picture out. Hermione put the picture in her bag for safe keeping. Once thing they forgot though, was to put the album back when they finished the room. They finished the boys' dormitories and found a few love letter, and a signed loony picture of Snape that might just end up on his desk. It wasn't much, so they hoped they would find more in the girls' side.  
  
As they were walking across they common room, they heard a noise outside the door. The Slytherins were back! Harry quickly covered themselved with the Invisibility Cloak, and the three of them didin't dare move as the door opened and the Slytherins began to come in. They spotted Malfoy going up to his dormitory. The three of them decided to try and move toward the door. Just to be careful, they crawled. They heard a yell and Malfoy was running down the stairs.   
  
"Who has been going through my stuff!?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione crawled even faster. Malfoy was running towards them. He tripped over the three of them, pulling the cloak off. Malfoy was flaming mad. He eyed the papers that belonged to the other Slytherins. Then he saw Hermione's bag.   
  
Malfoy lunged at it trying to pull it away from her. Hermione screamed, but would not let go. Now, no decent boy would physically fight with a girl, but as we all know, Malfoy is no decent boy. By this time, the Slytherins had mobbed Malfoy and Hermione. Malfoy and Hermione pulled and pushed until, Malfoy began to yank the bag away. He dumped everything out, and grabbed his picture.   
  
"Thought you could get away with my stuff didn't ya?" Malfoy was saying. Then he stared at the pile of books and papers. He grabbed Hermione's diary.  
  
"I guess your plan backfired." Hermione stared at the diary not knowing what to do.   
  
"Oh and look at this." Malfoy picked up a piece of paper. He read it aloud,  
  
"Dear Ron" He waited for a reaction form the three and this time it came from Ron. Ron was about to tackle Malfoy when he was grabbed by Crabbe and Goyle. Harry tried to help but he was held back by another group of Slytherins. Hermione pulled her wand out.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" This was Pansy Parkinson. Without her wand. Hermione didn't dare make a move in a room full of Slytherins.  
  
Malfoy smirked and continued,  
  
"Dear Ron,   
  
I'm just writing because I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me sometimes soon? And it is kind of early to ask this, but Parvati made me ask. Will you go to the Yule Ball with me? Let me know soon.  
  
Love,   
  
Lavender"  
  
Ron's face was so red, it put his hair to shame. Malfoy couldn't have looked happier.   
  
"I guess I got something from Granger and Weasley, but what about Potter? Oh, that's right, he would probably like his cloak back." Malfoy held up the Invisibility Cloak. Harry gasped, powerless. Malfoy carefully put the three things in his bag.  
  
"You three will do whatever I say if you don't want you secrets let out to the school and if Potter wants his cloak back. Hermione let them retrieve their other things and sent them out of the dungeons. Once they were outside, Hermione leaned over on the door and groaned,  
  
"He's got my diary!. What am I supposed to do now?"  
  
Ron was outraged.  
  
"You diary? What about the letter? What was it doing in your bag anyway?"  
  
"I don't know how it got there. I- wait. While I was looking for the Map, yesterday, I didn't know which bed belonged to who. I thought that was unfinished homework."  
  
"You two are worried about a book and a piece of paper, but Malfoy has his filthy hands on my dad's cloak. Harry wasn't very happy either.  
  
The three of them went to the tower for a restless night and a terrible morning awaiting them. 


	7. Blackmailed

Chapter 7  
  
That week, Malfoy did as the expected. The three didn't have any choice but to do what he said. It started out with simple things such as carrying books and running errands. By Tuesday, it had gotten a little more harsh, such as doing his homework. Nothing too severe. But by Wednesday, Malfoy had done something that made the three decide to take action. Classes had just finished and the the Gryffindors and Slytherins were walking out of double potions. Malfoy and the other Slytherins were whispering and giggling in a big huddle next to the door. Harry, Ron, and Hermione came out and noticed them.   
  
"We better move," Harry said, "the more we avoid Malfoy the less he can boss us around."  
  
"Yeah," Ron said as they sped up, "It's never safe to be around a bunch of giggling Slytherins anyway."  
  
Then they heard a call, "Hey, you three,Potter, Weasley, Granger"  
  
They were too close to pretend they hadn't heard. They whirled around, reluctantly. The Slytherins looked very happy about something. In other words, uh oh.   
  
"Come over here"  
  
They slowly made their way over.  
  
"My friends and I have been working up a little performance for you, Granger," Malfoy said, "Today, during dinner we would like for you to sing a little song for the school." He handed Hermione a piece of paper titled "My Mudblood Ways". They read over the paper. It was a very embarassing song.  
  
Hermione looked up, "I am not doing this"  
  
Malfoy took the comment lightly, "You forgot, Granger, that I still have your diary."  
  
"I don't care what it costs me. I didn't make prefect this year for all the trouble I've gotten into in my last four. I don't want to risk it anymore."  
  
(a/n: Hermione's forgetting that she has been risking it.)  
  
Malfoy frowned. Reading a diary to a whole school is far less appealing than this.   
  
"Fine, Granger. You may do it tomorrow when all the teachers will be at a meeting in Hogsmeade during dinner." Then he turned around and headed down the hall before anyone had a chance to say anything.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked silently to Gryffindor tower. When they got there, Hermione fell onto the nearest couch.  
  
"Oh, what am I going to do now!?" She groaned. Neither Harry nor Ron knew what to say.   
  
Then Harry came up with an idea, "Maybe we can get Malfoy to give us our stuff back before dinner tomorrow."  
  
Hermione gave a hopeless laugh, "And how are we supposed to do that?"  
  
Harry told them. Ron cracked up,   
  
but Hermione was 100% against it, "That is a major school rule we would be breaking. Plus, I wouldn't do it anyway. You know that. How are we supposed to get it any way? It's bound to be in the Restricted Section of the library."  
  
"You could easily butter up one of the teachers for a pass"  
  
"Still-"  
  
"Come on Hermione. We really need you to do this."  
  
"Why can't you guys do it yourself?"  
  
Both Harry and Ron looked sick at the thought.  
  
Hermione just realized what she had said, and said quickly,  
  
"Okay, I get it. I'll do it, but I will regret it." 


	8. Looooove not really

Harry and Ron told the Gryffindors what they were going to do, because they needed their help. Hermione was sitting in a corner regretting every single moment. Hermione easily managed to get the recipe from the restricted section.  
  
Ron was surprised, "How'd you manage to get it that quick?"  
  
Hermione answered, "Well the book was "Triggering the Mind" so I just told Madam Pomfrey that I planned to be in her Magical Health class next year and I wanted to know how the potion effects the way you think.  
  
Harry gave everyone directions.  
  
He was explaining, "And then someone could switch his potion ingredients since we're making the bone-mending potion and they both have the same directions just different ingredients.  
  
"But how are we going to do it without Malfoy looking?" someone asked.  
  
"We'll need for someone to knock him and Hermione over after they filled there cauldrons with water. We need it to be someone obvious, and then that same person should change the ingredients since they'll be near the table."  
  
All eyes shifted to Neville who was the obvious one to make a mistake in Snape's class. Neville looked a little regretful but he was also empowered with the Gryffindor pride just like all the other Gryffindors.  
  
"Alright," Neville said bravely, "I'll do it!"  
  
"Okay it's all set then," Harry said, "Hermione will tear Malfoy's bag before class. They'll both be late. Everyone make sure you have a partner to do your potion with, so that they end up being paired together."  
  
So the next day, Everyone was entering the dungeons while Hermione waited around a corner for Malfoy. He was the last one to enter the classroom. When he was just outside the door, Hermione stuck out her wand and whispered,  
  
"Diffindo!"  
  
Malfoy's bag split, and Malfoy stuff went in five different directions. He quickly ran around to pick everthing up, dropping his cauldron along the way. The cauldron rolled into Hermione's direction and she picked it up, to keep Malfoy out longer. The bell rang. Malfoy finished picking his stuff up and looked around,  
  
"Where's my cauldron?!" he said exasperately. Hermione waited for a few minutes to let him look for it. Then she quickly set it in a place where Malfoy could see it. Malfoy found it and picked it up. Hermione walked five spaces down the corridor, then turned around, and ran full speed into Snape's classroom. Malfoy walked into the classroom after her,  
  
"Is the perfect Granger late?" he sneered. Hermione did what she usually does with Malfoy's mean comments. Ignore them. Snape looked up to see them come in,  
  
"Five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness Miss Granger. Everyone else has paired up, so it seems that you and Mr. Malfoy will be partners. Now everyone, go fill up your cauldrons with water."  
  
Hermione and Malfoy quickly set out their ingredients on their potion trays at a table and picked up their cauldrons and got in line to fill them up, Hermione making sure she was behind Malfoy the whole way. They filled their cauldrons up with water and turned around and headed back for their table. Right when they were in front of the table, Neville came and ran into both of them, making them spill their water.   
  
"Watch it, Longbottom," Malfoy said angrily. without bothering to look up, Snape said from the other side of the room,  
  
"Five points from Gryffindor"  
  
Hermione and Malfoy turned around and went back to the sink. They were the last one's there.   
  
Neville took the opportunity to change the ingredients,  
  
"Uh oh, which trays is which?" He tried to find out which tray was Malfoy's but he didn't have much time. Malfoy and Hermione had almost finished refilling the cauldrons.   
  
Finally, Neville decided to change the ingredients on both of the trays.  
  
"There," he said,"Problem solved" and he ran back to his table.  
  
Hermione and Malfoy worked on their potions without speaking to each other except for a few mean comments. But not very many since Malfoy couldn't find many things that Hermione was doing wrong.  
  
The Gryffindors waited anxiously as they finished their potions. Finally everyone was done and Snape said over the class,  
  
"Okay, now we're going to test the potions. Since no one has any broken bones, all that will happen is that you will feel you're bones grow stronger." None of the Gryffindors took a drink immediately, they turned in their seats to look at Hermione and Malfoy.  
  
They each took a spoon and sipped at their potions. They both gave a jolt. When they looked up, their eyes met. Malfoy whispered,  
  
"You know, Granger, your eyes are like chocolate." Everything was going according to plan. So Far.  
  
Hermione giggled,   
  
"Well Malfoy, you're eyes look like the ocean," Hermione sighed, "So clear and deep."  
  
None of the Slytherins noticed them, but the Gryffindors did. They were all surprised. Was Hermione acting?  
  
"Malfoy?" Hermione whispered.  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"Can I call you Draco?"  
  
Malfoy looked into her eyes.  
  
"Of course, if I can call you Hermione."  
  
What had gone wrong?   
  
Hermione had definetely NOT been acting. 


End file.
